Chandigarh EV Policy – All you need to know!

Taking a clear census of the level of air pollution in the union territory (UT) amid the rising prices of imported oil reserves in the past few years, the Chandigarh government made its stance clear in 2019 when the first draft of Chandigarh Electric Vehicle Policy (EV Policy) was formulated.

Keeping in line with Central government’s vision to promote electric mobility and its bid to achieve 100% green mobility in the next few years, the Chandigarh government is finally set to launch its EV Policy anytime now. The stipulated period of this policy is stated to be five years once issued.

Paraphrasing some of the Chandigarh Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy final draft, issued on 10th February 2022, Vision and Objective in simpler words, the policy draft states,

Vision

Moving in the direction of targeting 100% switch towards green mobility, Chandigarh Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy aims to enable zero-emission mobility adoption for achieving carbon neutrality in Chandigarh by 2030.

Chandigarh EV Policy Objectives

• Aiming to fulfill the above-stated vision within the targeted period, Chandigarh EV Policy plans to promote EV sales such that they contribute to 80% of new vehicle registrations by the end of the policy period.
• The policy plans to establish Chandigarh as a “Model EV City” by targeting the highest penetration rate of Zero-Emission Vehicles amongst all Indian cities.
• In a recent bid to attract the youth of the city towards less traffic-jammed transportation, Chandigarh EV Policy plans to utilize UT’s existing cycling track infrastructure to encourage using Electric Bicycles as a cost-effective and fast replacement of two to four-wheeled vehicles for short trips.
• The policy intends to build a wide network of EV charging points all across the a city with a decent availability of power supply and related processes.
• Another the objective of the policy aims to harness New & Renewable Energy sources to charge EVs to reduce indirect emissions.
• One of the biggest projects of Chandigarh EV Policy target the multiple fleets operators assigned under e-commerce companies, last-mile delivery and even logistics players and mobility aggregators and plans to enable their transition to zero emission vehicles.
• The policy encourages skill development, R&D and startups to grow electric mobility space in the UT.
• The policy plans to set up a sound communication plan focused on driving awareness regarding the key elements of this policy and the benefits of adopting EVs.

Monetary Incentives for EV Buyers

In order to attract the general public towards EV adoption in large numbers, Chandigarh Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy plan to waive off or subsidize the purchase of electric vehicles registered in the city while following all the norms.

Detailing some of the offers laid out in the final draft of Chandigarh Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy on different electric vehicles, the incentives are arranged in terms of lighter to heavier ones.

• E-Bicycles- The policy offers a straight subsidy of up to 25% of the cost with Rs. 3000 as its maximum limit for the first 25,000 bicycles purchased during the policy period.
• E-2W- In a bid to promote two-wheelers in the city, the policy offers a subsidy of Rs. 5000/kwh on the fixed battery, Rs. 3000/kwh on a swappable battery and Rs. 5,000 on scrapped one.
• E-Cart & E-Autos- The policy encourages the purchase of e-cart and e-autos with retrofit kit getting a subsidy of 15% of the cost for the first 1,000 buyers.
• E-Cars (Personal)- Offering equal as well as higher subsidy offers than FAME, Chandigarh Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy Rs. 5,000/kwh for fixed battery and Rs. 7,000 for scrapped ones. Similar to the previous ones, these incentives can be availed by only the first 2,000 buyers once the policy gets implemented.
• Apart from the above-stated incentives, the policy will provide early-bird incentives to e-bicycle, e-2W, e-Cart, e-Autos, e-Goods Carrier (L5N and N1) and to e-4W (personal & commercial) with maximum limits of Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 50,000 respectively.
• This offer will stand only for the first year of policy implementation.

Measures & Incentives Centred Around Public & Private Charging Points Players

Measures

• To enforce a stricter regime to make home and workplace EV ready, Chandigarh Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy, the government intends to amend existing building bye-laws under Model Building Bye Laws, 2016 for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.
• Another the measure includes equipping additional power load as well as Private Charging Points (PCPs) to sustain charging points simultaneously by all residential and non-residential buildings.
• To encourage wider support of electric mobility, CREST plans to establish an IT based platform that will become a one-stop solution and will provide real time data on power connection, standard models of EVSEs present, cost of equipment & installation and about empaneled vendors.
• Under the policy, EV Charging Infrastructure will be mandatory for all the petrol pumps and should be operational in UT Chandigarh within the six months after the issuance of the final Chandigarh Electric Vehicle policy.
• Under the guidelines stated under the Chandigarh EV policy, competent authority will set and notify the rates offered by the public charging stations.

Incentives

• Following the careful guidance of UT’s laid out norms, the first 30,000 Private charging points players are offered a grant on the purchase and installation of charging equipment having a maximum limit of Rs. 6,000.
• On another hand, UT’s Policy provides 100% reimbursements for GST paid on the Fast Charging or Swapping Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) that will be procured by private enterprises or individuals under public charging infrastructure.
• This reimbursement stands for only first 50 fast charging and Swapping EVSE installed during the policy period excluding chargers availing subsidies under Central government.
• The policy allows 100% electricity duty exemption for public charging and swapping stations.
• In addition to above-given subsidies, CREST plans to develop a single platform mobile application to give real-time updates on EV charging stations with features having time slot availability, type of charging infrastructure, available load of charging station and measuring distance from the present location of user along with applicable tariff information.

Incentives for Start-ups

Stating some of the incentives offered in Chandigarh Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy final draft, start-ups are encouraged to develop its bases in the city with a deep focus on innovation in EV technology.

• The policy provides support in infrastructure building by offering a grant of Rs 3,000 per seat on monthly basis for the first ten start-ups based primarily on zero-emission mobility.
• For the first ten eligible start-up patents, UT’s policy offers reimbursements of up to 50% of the cost incurred by start-ups in fees and other costs while registering for national and international patents and associated registration of IP.
• The offer has a limit of Rs. 2 lakhs for national IP and Rs.5 lakhs for international IP.

Hidden Perks of Chandigarh Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy

• One of the largest perks lie in creating jobs while developing new skillset in unemployed youth as the UT plans to establish the E-Mobility Centre of Excellence (CoE) as well as skill enhancement centres mentioned in the recent policy draft.
• Apart from upskilling the youth in clean mobility solutions, the UT government intends to introduce short-term courses on electric mobility, EVSE, repair and maintenance, battery manufacturing and maintenance.